What Are Strategies to Improve Blog Engagement?

What Are Strategies to Improve Blog Engagement?

In the ever-competitive world of blogging, increasing engagement can be the key to building a loyal audience and driving meaningful interactions. But what are the most effective ways to boost engagement in a crowded digital space? Content marketers and digital marketing consultants have shared their best strategies to help you stand out. From repurposing and sharing blog content across multiple channels to enhancing posts with AI-generated visuals, these nineteen expert tips will provide you with actionable insights to take your blog engagement to the next level.

Repurpose and Share Blog Content
Conduct Primary Research
Encourage Interaction Within Content
Utilize Top-Ranking Headings
Broadcast Content on Social Media
Embed Informational Calls-to-Action
Create Content Around Trending Topics
Leverage Storytelling Techniques
Focus on Popular Keywords
Use Interactive Content Tools
Ask for Reader Feedback
Create Relatable, Conversational Content
Analyze Qualitative User Data
Leverage User-Generated Content
Start With an Overview Video
Write Enabling Content
Add Visuals and Comments
Implement A/B Testing
Enhance Blogs With AI-Generated Visuals

Repurpose and Share Blog Content

One strategy to enhance blog engagement is not simply to let a blog sit idle on your website. It’s essential to repurpose and share it across various distribution channels to guide audiences back to the blog. Think of the blog as a final destination; you must create additional touchpoints along the way to pique interest and lead people toward anticipating the blog content.

A simple approach is to share snippets of the blog and a cliffhanger in your email newsletter, prompting readers to click through to the blog. Other creative methods include transforming the blog into an infographic or creating a video that teases a portion of the content, encouraging viewers to visit the blog for the full article.

In essence, a stagnant blog garners minimal attention or engagement unless, of course, the content is controversial and sparks debates over differing viewpoints.

Joyce Tsang, Content Marketer and Founder, Joyce Tsang Content Marketing

Conduct Primary Research

Conduct some primary research that your blog readers will not only be interested in reading, but interested in participating in. People love sharing their insights, and if you ask your readers what they think about something, they will likely be more than happy to tell you. Make it a regular occurrence (like an annual survey) so readers come to anticipate it, and you can make comparisons with the findings from one survey to the next.

Rob Swystun, Content Strategist, Rob Swystun Content Marketing & Ghostwriting Inc.

Encourage Interaction Within Content

Content marketers are always looking for ways to increase engagement with blog posts. One proven tactic is encouraging interaction within your content. This includes polls, quizzes, interactive infographics, and embedded videos. Elements like these force the reader to interact with your content instead of just scrolling through it, making their experience memorable. Interactive content also begets more time on-page, social shares, and comments—all of which correlate to better overall engagement metrics known to improve SEO performance as well.

Hemanshu Vadodariya, Blogger, JHK infotech

Utilize Top-Ranking Headings

Use snippets and top-ranking H1s and H2s to your advantage.

Take note of the key headings from the top 3 or 4 ranking pieces of content for your intended keywords and ask AI tools like Claude or ChatGPT to surmise these headings into a guide for you to establish a structure for your blog content.

In my experience, this saves time but creates more concentrated content around the information people are looking for.

Matthew Mallaby, Content Marketer

Broadcast Content on Social Media

Blog engagement can be challenging for a range of reasons. You may either have a really niche subject and industry or, on the flip side, be part of a super-competitive market where many of your competitors are covering similar content. To improve engagement levels, it’s important to broadcast your content using other platforms, specifically social media. Having a social media presence as a business is important regardless, but when it comes to sharing your blogs, it can be a great way to attract new readers in a more casual yet informative way.

Using platforms such as LinkedIn is ideal, as it is filled with people looking for information, advice, and expertise in a wide selection of areas. You can also use different features to boost your posts wider, such as hashtags, sharing amongst the company, or tagging contributors or external companies. Similarly, you might want to use social media to set up PR opportunities and include featured comments or quotes, which can then be shared by external businesses.

Annie Everill, Digital Marketing Executive, Imaginaire

Embed Informational Calls-to-Action

To increase blog engagement, it’s important to embed informational calls-to-action within each blog post. The most effective way is to include links in your blog post to other articles related to the same topic. You can prolong visits from users seeking certain types of content when you embed links in this fashion, as it continues their original content journey. In one article, you might briefly mention an adjacent topic that you’ve covered previously. In the same instance, provide a text link using natural language that takes the user to an article that covers that topic in more detail.

Kevin Hall, Digital Marketing Consultant, Halls Consulting

Create Content Around Trending Topics

One strategy to improve blog engagement is to create content around trending topics. You should know what piques the interest of the intended audience and tailor your content strategy accordingly. People are already talking about these topics and likely exploring relevant information about them online. So, covering them through your blog would get you more eyeballs and help you boost engagement. Just ensure that these hot topics align with your choice of niche; you wouldn’t want to attract junk traffic to your website.

Thomas Griffin, Co-Founder & President, OptinMonster

Leverage Storytelling Techniques

One effective strategy to boost blog engagement is to leverage storytelling. Craft your blog posts around compelling narratives that resonate with your audience’s emotions and experiences. Stories make your content relatable and memorable, encouraging readers to spend more time on your blog, share your posts, and engage in the comments. This approach transforms your blog from a mere information source into a dynamic, interactive platform that captures and holds your audience’s attention.

Sanjana thakur, Content Specialist, QASource

Focus on Popular Keywords

Start with a primary keyword that has a level of competition that is suitable for where your website is at, and then build personal insights around it.

Not vice versa.

There’s a place for prioritizing personal insights, but I believe the novice-to-intermediate blog writer should pursue topics that are readily sought.

I’ve seen firsthand articles quickly gain engagement because they were popular outside of the various professional networks I’ve participated in.

I think the greatest engagement return is to be found by appealing to those actively searching via search engines, not those that you have a loose connection with via various social media channels.

Jack Grundy, Founder, Ever New Digital

Use Interactive Content Tools

Blog engagement has dropped nearly 60% since 2014, making many question if new blog posts are worth the effort. But don’t be disillusioned—fresh content is still crucial for SEO and building authority, and there is a way to get readers to engage and spend more time on your website. The solution is using interactive content tools.

Elements like custom calculators, choice-determination quizzes, and polls that let readers weigh in on future products can make a big difference. When you use these tools to connect with your readers and meet their needs, you’ll see your engagement numbers rise. So make a list of interactive tools that can make your readers’ lives easier, and you’ll start boosting those engagement numbers!

Steve de la Torre, Head Digital Marketer, SDLT Digital Marketing

Ask for Reader Feedback

Ask for input. It’s a simple way to boost blog engagement, and many content marketers overlook it. I always ask readers for their feedback at the end of blogs. This encourages more participation. I also pose questions at relevant spots throughout the content. Asking for opinions helps your blog get more interactions. It makes readers feel more involved—increasing engagement. You can also get valuable insights. Their comments help you better understand their likes and dislikes. Use this information to tailor content to meet their needs.

Dan Brown, Founder and CEO, Textun

Create Relatable, Conversational Content

The best way to increase blog engagement is by creating valuable, relatable content in a conversational and personal tone. Write as if you’re speaking directly to your target audience, addressing their needs and interests. This approach not only keeps readers engaged but also encourages them to interact, share, and return for future posts. By using this reader-focused approach, you can also naturally incorporate some keywords for search engine optimization, as well as pictures or video to enhance your reader’s experience with your authentic, valuable content.

Christine Thomas, Digital Marketing & Web Development Specialist, Targeted Business Support

Analyze Qualitative User Data

My best recommendation for improving blog engagement is to analyze qualitative data to understand the “why”’ behind user behavior. While Google Analytics provides quantitative metrics like bounce rate and time on page, it doesn’t reveal how users interact with your content. To understand this, I’ve turned to tools like Hotjar and Microsoft Clarity.

For example, I discovered that users expected a bulleted list in my header section to be clickable, causing frustration when it wasn’t. Addressing this improved user satisfaction and engagement.

On another occasion, heatmaps showed that pages with FAQ sections drove higher engagement. Implementing FAQs across more pages led to a noticeable uptick in user interaction.

Additionally, I identified formatting issues on mobile devices that made some pages appear unprofessional. Correcting these boosted both the user experience and my page’s organic rankings.

Villiam Karasti, SEO Consultant, Pardott Marketing

Leverage User-Generated Content

As a marketing consultant and coach, I’ve found that leveraging user-generated content (UGC) is one of the most effective strategies to boost blog engagement. By incorporating content created by your audience, you not only diversify your blog’s voice but also foster a sense of community and ownership among your readers. This approach can significantly increase time spent on your site and encourage more frequent return visits.

One powerful way to implement UGC is by regularly featuring reader submissions, such as personal stories, tips, or even creative works related to your blog’s theme. You can solicit these contributions through social media, email newsletters, or directly within your blog posts. By showcasing your audience’s content, you’re not only providing fresh perspectives but also creating a platform for your readers to share their expertise and experiences.

Don’t forget to extend the UGC strategy to your blog’s comment section. Encourage thoughtful discussions by posing questions at the end of each post and actively participating in the conversations that unfold. Consider highlighting top comments in future posts or creating a “Reader Insights” series that compiles the most valuable reader contributions. This approach not only improves engagement but also helps build a loyal community around your blog.

Greg Davis, Owner, Azola Creative

Start With an Overview Video

One great strategy to improve blog engagement is to start each blog article with an overview video. This video gives readers a preview of what they will learn in the blog, kind of like a movie trailer that gets them excited about what’s coming next. This approach helps in multiple ways.

First, by tracking how many people watch the video and how long they watch it, you can get a good idea of how interested they are in your content. If lots of people watch the whole video, it means they are really engaged. Also, by making the content of the blog and the video similar, you can see which parts of the video people skip over or re-watch. This helps you understand which topics they find boring and which ones they really like.

With this information, you can make your future blog posts even better. If readers love certain topics, you can write more about those in the future. This way, you’re always improving and making your blog more interesting and fun for your readers. Using an overview video is like having a super-tool that helps you understand your audience better and keep them coming back for more.

Joe Forte, Co-Founder, D-MAK Productions

Write Enabling Content

There are many things you can do to maximize engagement on your blog. Here are some of the most effective:

Write Enabling Content – Never focus on selling content; instead, write content that will enable the reader to do something better after having read it. Remember that the reason behind most purchases is simply to solve a problem. Creating blog posts that aid users with their problems will bring more value to them.

Apply SEO Techniques to Your Blog – SEO is important, and this can be applied through relevant keywords, great meta descriptions, and compelling headlines.

Promote Your Blog – Share your content through social media hooks and email newsletters.

Kevin Shoffner, Marketing Manager

Add Visuals and Comments

The first and foremost step is to add visuals to the blog—images, graphs, etc. Embedding YouTube videos that are currently ranking is one way to improve the ranking of your blog. In addition, you can insert a comment section to the blog, thereby increasing the chance of your readers using the commenting system. Resharing your blog post to your niche (or communities) and on social media can be another way to promote and drive engagement to your blog post.

Sruthi Murali, PMM, Unscript

Implement A/B Testing

Focusing on A/B testing to improve blog engagement has been transformative for my clients. I recall working with an e-commerce blog that struggled to keep readers engaged. We decided to A/B test different elements, starting with headlines. One version had a straightforward, informative title, while the other had a more provocative and question-based title. The question-based title increased engagement by 30%.

Beyond headlines, testing the placement of calls-to-action (CTAs) was crucial. Initially, CTAs were buried at the end of articles, but by experimenting with mid-article placements, we noticed a 25% increase in click-through rates. The key is to continuously test various elements like images, intro paragraphs, and even author bios.

From my experience, the most effective way to engage readers is by making data-driven decisions. Using A/B testing provides clear insights and allows you to tailor content that resonates with your audience. Each tweak based on test results helps build a blog that’s more compelling and interactive for readers.

Jörg Dennis Krüger, Author, Expert and Mentor, The Conversion Hacker®

Enhance Blogs With AI-Generated Visuals

We enhance blog engagement with AI-generated visuals and videos. Readers today have shorter attention spans and prefer easy-to-digest content. Adding visual content significantly enhances the engagement and readability of our blogs.

We use the following tools for faster production and consistent brand identity: